Telecommunication cables are used for distributing data across vast networks. Modern communication and data networks rely on fiber optic transmission lines or cables due to their high speed and low attenuation characteristics. As these fiber optic cables are routed across networks, it is necessary to periodically open the cable and splice or tap into the cable so that data may be distributed to “branches” of the network. The branches may be further distributed until the network reaches individual homes, businesses, offices, and so on. The distributed lines are often referred to as drop lines. At each fiber access point where the cable is opened, it is necessary to provide some type of enclosure to protect the cable (and potentially unjacketed fiber) and allow easy and repeated access to the cable. These enclosures need to provide features to store the fiber optic lines as well as allow for the interconnection between the incoming and outgoing fiber optic lines.
The purpose and configuration of the enclosure will vary depending on where the enclosure is located in a network. When an enclosure is used to interconnect distribution lines, the number of splices that can be made in the enclosure is a factor in determining which enclosure and which accessories within the enclosure are used. Frequently, telecommunication carriers want to use the smallest enclosure that can accommodate the needed number of splices due to factors like the cost of the enclosure, cost of installation, as well as aesthetics for above grade installations. At another point in the network an enclosure can be used to distribute signals from a few optical fibers to many optical fibers through the use of optical splitters. While in another application, an enclosure may also contain a termination field for interconnecting optical fiber connectors.
As networks expand telecommunication carriers may want to add a cable to an existing fiber access point to increase capacity of a portion of the network or bring service to an area which did not have high speed, gigabit service previously. In order to do this the optical fiber interconnection capacity of enclosures at these fiber access points needs to increase.
Trays are a primary component used within communication enclosures to house optical fiber interconnection components such as optical fiber splices, optical splitters and the like. In order to increase the number of optical fiber splices within an enclosure, conventional practice is to simply add another tray, but this may not be possible due to volume constraints of the enclosure, installation requirements (e.g. slack storage requirements), the type of tray being used as well as the design criteria of the tray itself such as splice capacity, tray dimensions, etc. Thus, there is a need for a tray that can support not only the breadth of optical fiber interconnection means used at fiber access points, but can also support capacity expansion of the fiber access point.